The CatchAll drawer
by Millemini
Summary: A collection of one-shots. Random entries, some very short, some longer. Varying genres, but always Annie/Auggie. Some word of the day stories as well. LATEST ENTRY: "One Of Those Days" - Auggie has a bad day.
1. Perks

**This silly little story was kind of inspired by the 2nd chapter of the story "Kismet" by Take this to Heart (the part where Annie talks about hating to live in a safe house). It sort of popped in to my head after reading that. The initial thought is that it's a one-shot, but you never know where my imagination might go.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything Covert Affairs.**

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><p><strong>-Perks-<strong>

After a few weeks at the safe house Annie was kind of hating the fact that no one could know where she lived; especially after the incident with Chloe's artwork while she was in Berlin. Danielle still hadn't forgiven her for that. She was also sick of sleeping on a damn futon and living out of boxes. It was becoming clear to her that she needed to get the process of finding a real place to live started. She'd been postponing it because she was still hoping that Danielle would let her move back in to the guesthouse, but she was starting to realize that that wasn't happening.

The fact that she couldn't have company over was the thing she hated the most. She didn't have that many visitors when she lived in her sisters guest house, but Danielle, Michael and the girls were usually around, so she was rarely alone. The first couple of weeks she'd enjoyed the solitude, but it was getting on her nerves. She'd thought she'd at least be able to have someone from the agency over, like Auggie, but absolutely no one could know where she lived.

All of a sudden she had an idea. She glanced towards Auggie's office. He was alone. She quickly got up and made her way there. As she entered she made sure that both sliding doors were closed so they could have a private conversation.

_"Annie Walker, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_ he swiveled his chair toward her and flashed her a bright smile.

_"I just had an idea…"_ Annie started eagerly.

_"Uh-oh, why do I have a feeling I'm not gonna like this?"_ Auggie didn't always appreciate Annie's ideas.

_"Wanna come over to my house for a pizza and some beers after work?"_

_"Annie, you know I can't. It's a safe house; you know the protocol. I thought we already had this conversation," _he replied firmly, sounding slightly exasperated.

_"Yeah yeah, no one can know the location blah blah blah… Come on Augs, if I don't actually tell you where it is you'll have no idea, it's not like you can see for yourself."_

Auggie looked genuinely shocked for a second, before a teasing smirk was plastered across his face. _"Annie, you wanna take advantage of my disability to have some company over? You never cease to surprise me, that's for sure!" _

_"Hey, having a blind best friend has some perks."_ She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

_"It's still a no-go Annie. I could be both blind and deaf and it wouldn't matter. Protocol is protocol."_

_"Oh come one Auggie, don't be such a killjoy. I'm going crazy from spending lonely nights on my futon in the company bad movies and microwave dinners, I kind of feel like I'm back in college, just without the annoying roommate and parties. I promise I won't reveal anything about the location to you, I'll even drive around a bit to make sure you're disoriented."_

_"Oh, now you're really making and argument for it. I just love being disoriented and not having a clue about where I am,"_ he said sarcastically, shaking his head.

_"Auggie…. "_ Annie pleaded.

_"Sorry. You know I can't. If you want company you're welcome to come over to my place or I'll go with you to wherever you want."_

_"It's not the same Auggie and you know it. Not that I don't appreciate the offer."_

Annie let a heavy sigh escape and started walking towards the door.

_"Oh well, I'll just head back to my__ very__ boring translation, which I will hopefully finish by the end of the century, then I'll go 'home' to the safe house and enjoy a delicious nuked dinner and watch some crap on TV all by myself."_

_"Annie…"_ Auggie stood and called after her, but before he could say something else the door slid shut behind her.

He sat back down and leaned back in his chair, while letting out a deep breath and shaking his head. He'd noticed the change in Annie's mood lately; she was constantly beating herself up if she made even small mistakes on missions or if something that was really out of her control happened. He knew she missed her sister, nieces and brother-in-law and having spent a few months living in a safe house himself he knew what she was going through. Part of him wanted to tell Annie he'd come home with her, after all she was right; if she didn't reveal anything about the area he'd be totally oblivious to location. Still, protocol was protocol and he knew that if someone found out both he and Annie would be in big trouble.

What Annie needed was an apartment, a real one. Something she's said after she came back from Venice a few weeks back had given him the feeling that she probably wasn't looking for a place to live at all, that she was still hoping for Danielle to let her move back in. He needed to have a talk with Annie, a real talk. He grabbed his laser cane and headed for her desk, as he got closer he could hear her typing and the sound revealed that Annie was not at all happy. She seemed to take it out on the space bar when she was upset.

_"Annie, we need to talk."_ Auggie said as he perched himself on the corner of her desk.

_"Really Auggie? About what?"_ Annie snapped while she kept typing and didn't bother to look up at Auggie.

_"Not here, my office."_ He located and grabbed her arm and pulled her with him back to Tech Ops. He found the extra chair in the corner and pulled it out and motioned for Annie to sit in it and went back and closed the door firmly.

_"What the hell Auggie? What's this about?"_

_"Are you even looking for a place to stay? A __real__ place?"_

_"Well, it's not easy. I've been trying…"_ she sounded kind of insecure, hesitant. He knew she wasn't telling the truth.

_"Really? Are you sure you're not just stalling, hoping for Danielle to let you move back in?"_

_"And what exactly makes you think that?"_ The tone of her voice told Auggie he'd hit the nail on the head. He shook his head with a smile.

_"I thought you said you were top of your class in deception training. If you're the best I sure hope most of your class ended up behind desks here at Langley."_

That last comment earned him a not-so-gentle punch on the arm.

_"OW! What was that for?"_

_"Being a smartass."_

_"Seriously though Annie. If you're so miserable in that safe house you need to set the wheels in motion and find a place. The process takes a few weeks, first finding a place and then having it vetted by the agency. The sooner you get on with it the better."_

Annie sighed, she knew Auggie was dead on; she was hoping that Danielle would let her move back in to the guesthouse.

_"As always, you're right. How do you do that?"_

_"Just a talent of mine, it's another perk of having me as a best friend. So there you have two. One; I'm blind as a bat. Two; I always know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours. Here comes number three; I'm a killer at apartment hunting."_

_"Sure…"_ Annie didn't sound convinced.

_"No, really. Or, truth to be told; my brother works in real estate and has some connections. He owes me one. I'll call him if you'd like."_

_"Your brother lives here in DC? I thought all of your family lived in Illinois."_

_"Well, he lives in Northbrook, but he has connections at the DC branch of the company he works for. He worked there a few years ago, but moved back to Illinois when he was promoted to head of their Chicago office."_

_"I'm not looking to buy a place though, there's no way I could afford that."_

_"They do rentals too. You want me to make a call?"_

_"Thanks Auggie. You're right; I really need to start looking for a real apartment."_

_"That you do Miss Walker. I'll call him and I'll let you know when I have something for you. What's your budget and requirements?"_

Annie gave Auggie a quick run down of what she was looking for and he promised to call his brother later and have him see what he could come up with.

_"I don't deserve you Auggie. Thank you."_ She kissed him gently on the cheek before heading back to her desk, leaving Auggie with an astonished look on his face for a few seconds before he managed to compose himself and get back to work. There was some perks to having Annie Walker as a best friend too.


	2. Paint

**I've got a few little one-shots sitting on my laptop that I want to share, but I feel like uploading them as separate stories is a bit over the top; so... I decided to turn "Perks" into "The Catch-All Drawer". It's sometimes fun to write out a small, silly story like the one below, when I've hit road blocks on my multi-chapter fics it often helps kick my muse back on track.**

**DISCLIAMER: As always: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

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><p>grouse \grous\<p>

_verb_:  
><strong>1.<strong> To grumble; complain.

_noun_:  
><strong>1.<strong> A complaint.

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><p><strong>-Paint-<strong>

_"Annie, can we please get on with this? The paint fumes are starting to make me dizzy."_

_"Stop whining Auggie, it doesn't suit you."_

They were in the paint department at Home Depot to buy paint for the bedroom in Annie's new apartment and Auggie was losing his patience. Annie had been fussing over colors for almost half an hour and she was nowhere closer to making a decision. All of a sudden she grabbed one of Auggie's hands off the grip of his cane and pressed the five paint chips she'd narrowed it down to into it.

_"So, which one should I pick?"_

_"Annie, are you seriously asking my advice on which color to pick?"_

_"Yep! You always have the right answer. Pick one."_

Auggie scrunched his eyebrows together and shuffled the paint chips in his hand, pretending to be studying them closely. Then he sighed and held them all out in Annie's direction.

_"Sorry Walker, asking the blind guy that can't remember what colors look like for advice on which paint to choose is really useless. You're on your own in that department."_

_"Auggie, please. Do I have to call Jai?"_ That did it.

_"This one."_ Auggie held out a one of the paint chips in Annie's direction. _"It'll look great with your bedspread, I'm sure,"_ he said with a confident smirk.

Annie grabbed it from his hand. She already knew it would look great with her bedspread, she'd quickly found five colors she liked, she just couldn't choose between them and figured she'd let Auggie pick for her.

_"Aug, you're incorrigible."_ She punched his arm gently and headed over the counter and ordered two gallons of paint.


	3. Flu

**Just a little fluffy friendship story I've had sitting on my laptop for a while. I cleaned it up and figured I'd put it in "The CatchAll Drawer" :o)**

**Enjoy - and remember: Reviews are LOVED! :o)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

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><p><strong>-FLU-<strong>_  
><em>

_"Seriously Auggie, why did you even leave your bed this morning? You don't look well."_ Annie had just finished her coffee run and was perched against the end of Auggie's desk. He looked like shit. He had dark circles under his eyes, his nose was running and he was constantly coughing. He was also wearing a thick wool sweater instead of his usual shirt.

_"Because I have a job to do Annie,"_ he replied without turning away from the computer. She watched as he grabbed another Kleenex and blew his nose. _"Speaking of jobs, don't you have a job to do as well? Or are you going to stare at me for the rest of the day?"_ He did his best to sound agitated, but it came out as a hoarse croak, finished off by another cough and a sniffle.

Annie sighed. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with Auggie, he was stubborn as a mule and arguing with him usually just made things worse. He would probably realize that his warm bed was more tempting than his chilly office sooner or later.

_"You're right. I shouldn't waste the day enjoying your good looks. I'll be at my desk if you need me,"_ Annie said as she turned and left Auggie's office.

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><p>True to Annie's predictions she found Auggie's office dark and empty and his computer shut off when she arrived at work the next morning. When she asked Stu he confirmed Annie's suspicions; Auggie had called in sick. Annie found a stack of translations waiting for her at her desk and they kept her busy through the day and she didn't have time to worry about Auggie until she got off work at 5:30 in the afternoon. As she pulled out of the gate at Langley she pulled out her phone and dialed Auggie's number.<p>

When Auggie woke up that morning it was obvious to him that he wasn't going to work. He'd barely made it through the previous day and Joan had told him that she didn't want to see him in the office again until he was better. He was to stay at home, rest up, eat soup and get better. Auggie didn't have the energy to argue with her at that point, if he was to be brutally honest with himself a couple of days in bed didn't sound all that bad. When he'd arrived home he'd been so exhausted he'd barely managed to change from his work clothes to a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt before he went to bed and fell asleep almost instantly. He stayed in bed and pretty much slept through the next 24 hours. His phone ringing woke him, the caller ID announced Annie's name and after a few seconds of groping around the nightstand he located the phone.

_"Hello…"_ he croaked out.

_"Hi Auggie, how are you doing?"_

_"Still have the damn flu, I have a fever and I have a headache and no Tylenol."_

_"I'm on my way home from work now. I can swing by with Tylenol and anything else you need."_

Auggie's first thought was to tell Annie he was fine and that he could manage on his own, but the pounding in his head and the knowledge that his fridge and pantry was awfully sparsely stocked made him swallow his pride. Over the past five years he'd fought so hard for his independence that he still found it hard to accept help from others, but Annie Walker was the one person he'd accept help from. He knew she was just Annie being Annie. Auggie gave her a short list of groceries he needed, in addition to Tylenol and some cold medicine.

An hour later Annie knocked on Auggie's door. In addition to the requested groceries and medications she'd picked up some soup from the deli down the street from his apartment. The door slid open, revealing Auggie, dressed in sweats, his hair mussed and a two-day growth of beard. He certainly didn't look any better than the previous day, if anything he looked even worse.

_"Hi Annie, come on in,"_ he said, gesturing for her to enter. She carried her purchases inside, slipped her shoes off and kicked them into the corner so Auggie wouldn't trip over them, and walked across the room and deposited the bags on the kitchen island.

_"Are you hungry? I picked up a couple of pints of soup at the deli down the street, I can heat some up for you."_

_"Soup actually sounds good."_

_"Tomato or vegetable soup?"_

_"Tomato please. Thanks Annie. I'll get my Braille labeler so I can label the other stuff you me got if you don't mind helping me out."_

_"Of course not. That's what best friends are for,"_ she answered, patting his shoulder as he passed her.

An hour later the groceries were labeled and Auggie had placed them in his fridge and pantry. He'd polished off a bowl of soup and had downed a couple of Tylenol, his headache was subsiding and he did feel better, still his bed did sound tempting.

_"If you don't need anything else I think I'll head home. I have a feeling you want to get back to bed."_

_"Yeah, I hate to be a party pooper, but bed is tempting. Thanks for helping me."_

"_No need to thank me Auggie. Call if you need anything. Hope you feel better soon."_

_"Me too,"_ he sighed. _"I really hate being sick like this."_

_"Well, rest, eat soup and you'll be back to normal soon."_

_"Yeah, I know. At least I have some food and medicine here now. I really appreciate it Annie."_

She grasped his hand and gave it a little squeeze before getting up from the sofa.

_"I know you do Auggie. Now, rest up and get better, I miss you at work already."_

_"I'll be back before you know it. I'm feeling better already. Soup and Tylenol helps."_

_"Well, back to bed Soldier Boy!"_ Annie said putting her shoes back on. She grabbed her purse and slid the heavy door open.

_"Yes ma'am,"_ Auggie replied with a teasing smile, following her to the door.

_"Call me if you need anything, ok?"_

_"Will do. Thanks Annie."_

_"Any time Auggie. See you later."_

_"Later,"_ Auggie said, sliding the door shut behind her. He felt truly lucky to have Annie Walker in his life.

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><p><strong>Soo, what do you think? Like it? Please review - the muse is starving! :o)<strong>

**There's the button!**

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	4. Bad news

**First of all: Thanks for the reviews and alerts! Keep 'em coming. ;o)**

**Another little one-shot that's been sitting on my computer. Since I haven't got any clear ideas for my multi-chapter fics right now I'm focusing on cleaning up and sharing the little one-shots's I've got. **

**This story is set during the season 2 finale, right after Auggie gets the call from Dr. Kessle, telling him he's not a candidate for stem cell therapy. It's a bit of an insight to Auggie's thoughts and feelings regarding the news. There's also an intimate phone conversation with his mother. Hope you like it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs, Annie or Auggie. Would love to have Auggie in my life.**

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><p><strong>-Bad news-<strong>

Somehow Auggie got through the rest of the day without falling apart. It was just a matter of keeping his attention on the task at hand and not let his mind wander. Getting Annie and her sister safely out of Stockholm had demanded his full attention and he'd managed to keep his thoughts strictly on that subject. As soon as he knew Annie and Danielle were safely aboard the American trawler he called his car service and arranged to go home. He was drained and knew he couldn't keep it together much longer. Between Parker breaking up with him and Dr. Kessle's news it had been the worst week since he woke up scared and disoriented at the field hospital in Iraq five years earlier.

As soon as he closed his apartment door behind him the wall started breaking. He let the reality of what Dr. Kessle had told him hit him. There was nothing that could be done to restore his sight. He was going to be blind for the rest of his life. As much as he'd adapted to being blind, tried to make a good life for him self, there had always been that glimmer of hope lurching in the back of his head. The hope that he might be able to see, drive, work in the field, run freely, just simply regain the freedom he once had and of course; see Annie. Now the hope was gone, yanked away. Deep down Auggie was aware that even if he'd been a candidate for the stem cell treatments there were no guarantees to what the results would be. The chance of getting 20/20 vision from it was slim to none, but anything was better than what he had. "Let it go Auggie," he thought as he changed out of his office clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Some time later he was sitting on his couch, legs propped up on the coffee table in front of him. Jazz was filling the room and he was clutching a bottle of beer in his right hand. He needed to talk to someone and the one person he wanted to confess to wasn't available. She was somewhere in the Baltic Sea, heading for Copenhagen and then back to the US. She was at least 48 hours away, the itinerary for the final leg of her trip home hadn't been confirmed when he left the office, he'd left it up to his team and Joan to sort it out. He groped around his sofa and found his phone on the cushion next to him. He quickly pushed 2 on his speed dial. His mother picked up the phone on the third ring.

_"Hi Auggie, how are you?"_ she greeted, sounding happy to hear from him. He instantly felt guilty for not keeping closer in touch with his parents.

_"Not to great I'm afraid. Needed to talk to someone."_

_"What's going on son?"_

_"It's just been the week from hell. Are you busy?"_

_"No. I always have time for my sons. You know that, right?"_

_"I know Mom…"_ Auggie's voice trailed off, he didn't really know where to start. After a few moments of silence his mother gently pushed for him to talk. He gathered his thoughts and after a deep sigh he started talking.

_"I think I told you I was going to a memorial for Billy, right?"_

_"I remember you mentioning something about that a few months ago,"_ his mother confirmed.

_"I met Billy's sister there, and within a couple of weeks we were in a pretty serious relationship. I haven't had a connection like that with anyone for a while and we had a great time together. We both knew we only had a limited time together, Parker had been accepted to the Peace Corps and was leaving a few months later. She's spending two years in Eritrea. I tried to convince her to maintain a long distance relationship with me, but she broke up with me before she left. I get why, she wants to start fresh, let go of the past and I guess I'm a pretty solid connection to her past, given my connection with her brother…."_ Auggie sighed. He didn't know how to go on.

_"Even if you understand intellectually why she broke up, it doesn't hurt less,"_ his mother said quietly. _"I have a feeling there's more going on?"_

_"Yeah… A few weeks ago Dr. Kessle called me. He thought I might be a candidate to take part in a trial and receive stem cell treatments on my eyes, hoping to restore at least some of my sight. I went in for an exam and a MRI a couple of days ago and he called me this morning to give me the results. As you might have guessed the news were not good. I'm not a candidate. There's nothing that can be done to restore my sight."_

_"Oh Auggie…"_ his mother whispered.

_"I don't know why it felt like such a slap in the face. I thought I'd accepted that this is my life now; I've adapted to being blind. I have a great job, friends… In general life is good you know. There are things I miss, like driving, but it's been years since I thought about stuff like that on a regular basis."_

_"I don't have a good answer for you Auggie, but it sounds like you've been through quite an emotional rollercoaster lately."_

_"Probably… I guess on some level, deep down, I've hoped for a cure, that someday there would be a way to fix my eyes. When Dr. Kessle called all of those hopes surfaced, all of a sudden they seemed within reach, even if I was painfully aware of the fact that it was a long shot. Even if I'd been a candidate and they'd accepted me to be part of the trial the chances of getting 20/20 vision were slim to none. If I'd been lucky it might have given me 10-20% of my sight back, light/dark perception, maybe shadows, stuff like that. I'd probably still have to read Braille and use a cane. My mind just went crazy and imagined driving the 'Vette and all sorts of stuff. Stupid, I know."_

_"It's not stupid Auggie. I can't even imagine what you've been through for the past few years, but you've really blown us away with your resilience and the way you've bounced back."_

_"Well… I made a decision pretty early on in rehab to try to regain as much of my old life as possible and not be a burden. I can't spend my life dwelling over 'what-ifs' and wallow in self-pity. It would be a waste you know."_

_"It sounds like you've thought this through and I'm su__re you'll get through this last blow too. Just give it some time. Call me whenever you feel you need to talk to me. I'm here. Always."_

_"I know. Thanks Mom. I guess I should let you go. I need to check in with the office, to make sure they tied up some loose strings I left them."_

_"Love you Auggie. Remember what I said: I'm here. So is your dad."_

_"Love you too Mom. Later."_ With that Auggie ended the call.

The chat with his mother had done him good. Even if she hadn't said much her gentle prompts had helped him sort through many of the emotions that were flowing through him. He dug his encrypted iPhone out of his pocket and called the office to make sure they'd sorted Annie's travels back to the US.

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><p><strong>Remember to hit the button below &amp; review! :o)<br>****\\**/****/  
><strong>****\/**


	5. Brotherly support

**Thank you so much for the amazing feedback on the previous chapter. Every review and alert means a lot. :o)**

**I've written several one-shots about Auggie right after his accident, this is one of them. I find exploring his emotions and how he dealt with everything right after he was injured very interesting. I'm better at writing angst stuff than happy, fluffy stuff and I actually enjoy it more. Maybe I'm weird? LOL :o) **

**DISCLAIMER: As usual; don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs. Was tempted with ownership of Auggie on a T-shirt until I found out that shipping to Norway would be more than the actual shirt. :o)**

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><p><strong><span>-Brotherly support-<span>**

Auggie woke up with the mother of all headaches pounding in hos head, he hadn't managed to sleep much, too many thoughts rattled through his head and the nightmares about the faithful mission little over a week earlier had kept him awake. He heard a light knock on the door, just as he was about to push the button to call the nurse for some painkillers. The door opened and he heard steps coming into the room, heading towards him. They seemed somewhat familiar, but it didn't sound as a nurse. They were too hesitant and the person wasn't wearing sneakers or Crocs like most of the staff did, it sounded more like dress shoes with leather soles. Auggie sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

_"Hello…who's there?"_ he said timidly, turning in the general direction of whoever was approaching.

_"It's me, Mark,"_ came a hesitant response. Seconds later he felt the bed depress slightly and his slightly older brother's arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a firm hug. He had wondered when someone from his family would show up. It wasn't a surprise that Mark was the first one; he was his emergency contact. He was surprised that he seemed to be alone. He had expected their mother to be with him.

_"The doctor told me everything. How are you holding up?"_ Mark asked with worry lacing his voice as he broke the embrace.

_"I'm scared Mark. They say there's nothing they can do to fix my eyes. That I'm permanently blind."_ His brothers presence made him let his guard down and soon tears were flooding down Auggie's cheeks, but he didn't care. _"What am I supposed to do now? Move into my old bedroom at Mom and Dad's and be a burden on them and the rest of the family rest of my life?"_ Auggies voice trembled. Mark held him firmly in his arms and Aggie held on to his brother like his life depended on it for what seemed like an eternity, sobbing, tears flowing down his cheeks.

_"It'll be ok Auggie, I know this must be terrifying and I can't even imagine how you feel, but there are plenty of blind people out there that have jobs, families and fulfilling lives. One of the partners at work is blind and he's one of the best lawyers in Chicago. He's got a wife, three kids…"_ Mark paused for a second to gather his thoughts. _"Your future might not be what you planned on, but I have no doubt in my mind that you are strong and you will pull through this and find a way to live with this. The doctor told me there's a social worker coming to discuss rehab options with you at 10. I suggest you consider coming back to Illinois. The Hines VA hospital has a great blind rehab facility and you'd be close to the rest of the family."_

Auggie didn't respond. Rehab. The doctor at Landstuhl had mentioned it, so had the doctor at Walter Reed that confirmed his diagnosis the previous day. He just hadn't wrapped his head around it all. Deciding where to go to rehab, to learn to live as a blind person, seemed to make it so final, real. He wasn't sure he was ready to accept that this was his life now. Auggie heard the sound of something, maybe a bag, being placed on the bed next to him. He turned in the direction of the sound with a questioning look on his face.

_"I crashed at your place last night, I got in really late and couldn't find a hotel that didn't cost a fortune on such short notice. There's some major conference here this week, all hotels are full and the few rooms that are available are ridiculously overpriced. I hope you don't mind?"_

_"It's fine Mark. I gave you the key, remember? What's that?"_ Auggie cocked his head toward where he'd heard Mark put something down.

_"A duffle bag. I packed some toiletries and clothes for you. Figured sweats and a t-shirt might be more comfortable than a hospital gown. Why don't I show you the bathroom, you can take a quick shower and put on some clothes before the social worker comes? You look like you could need a shower."_

Auggie sighed. Mark brother had always been the take-charge kind, and he knew this was an argument he couldn't win, no matter what. And Mark was right; Auggie needed a shower. He couldn't remember the last time he had one and running his hand through his hair revealed it to be rather greasy.

_"A shower actually sounds nice,"_ he said, barely audibly as he let Mark lead him into the bathroom. After placing Auggie's toiletry bag on the sink and a fresh change of clothes on the toilet lid he explained to Auggie where everything was and left him to bumble around on his own.

Half an hour later Auggie found himself sitting on the bed freshly showered, wearing a pair of black sweatpants and his '1-up' t-shirt. At least that's what Mark told him. It wasn't like he had any idea what he was wearing, but the familiar smell of his fabric softener confirmed they were his clothes. It was nice to be out of the hospital gown and the familiar clothes were somewhat comforting. A nurse had given him a painkiller for his headache and he'd managed to eat just a little bit of breakfast. He didn't feel as bad as he did when he woke up, but his anxiety and fear still had a firm grip on him. He was glad to have Mark there and realized that going to Hines for his rehab might not be such a bad idea. He'd have his family there to support him and if he were going to get through the coming months he would probably need a lot of support. The kind of support he couldn't expect from his buddies and co-workers in DC. "Co-workers," he suddenly thought. "I probably don't even have co-workers." He was pretty sure he'd be offered a medical severance from the CIA because of his now useless eyes. He wondered when Joan would show up, or if she'd just send someone from HR.

A couple of months later Auggie was in the front passenger seat of Mark's car. He'd been at the Hines VA hospital for seven weeks and he'd just spent the weekend at his parent's house. Things were looking better, and although Auggie still hated the thought of spending the rest of his life in a perpetual moonless night things were slowly coming together. His cane skills were improving, he was starting to get the hang of basic Braille and he was starting to master lots of other skills as well. At some point during the first couple of weeks of rehab he'd realized that he had no option but to accept that he was blind and try to make the best of it. He figured that he owed it to himself, his family and friends and to his unit. He'd made it home alive and they hadn't. It would be disrespectful to them and their families to crawl off and hide. It wouldn't do him any good to wallow in self pity. There was still plenty of reasons to live; he had a large, tight knit family that cared about him and supported him. He also had friends that supported him; both some of his friends from DC and his high school buddies had called or visited several times.

The main thing that kept him going was the knowledge that he had a job waiting for him at Langley when he was ready. Joan had come to see him at Walter Reed just before he was discharged and to his surprise she'd made it very clear that she wanted him back. She didn't know exactly what kind of position he'd be in, but she'd promised to find a place for him. At the time he'd found the thought of working at the CIA again far fetched, but as he'd gained new skills and his confidence had grown over the past few weeks he started to realize that it was going to happen and it drove him to work even harder on everything from Braille to his Orientation and Mobility skills. He wanted to move back to DC and regain as much of his old life as he could and be as independent as possible for a blind guy.

* * *

><p><strong>This is one of my earliest works, wrote it not long after I watched my first episode of Covert intrigued me right from the beginning, he's the reason I love the show so much.<br>**

**Please let me know what you think in a review. :o)  
>ll<br>ll  
><strong>**\\**/****/**  
>\ **


	6. Miracle

**I'm very apprehensive about posting this one, as Auggie-gets-his-sight-back stories are hard to do without getting cheesy. So far Beth - Geek Chick is the the only author here that has done it well. I know her story is miles ahead of mine, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this. It's been sitting on my computer for a long time, and I finally got the courage to publish.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual stuff... I don't own Covert Affairs, Annie or Auggie.**

* * *

><p><strong>-Miracle?-<strong>

Annie rushed through the halls of Langley toward the DPD. A four-month undercover mission had finally come to an end and she was anxious to find out what was going on with Auggie. He'd been her main handler for the mission but about a month and a half into it Stu had taken over without offering any kind of explanation to Auggie's absence or when he'd be back. She'd known that he wouldn't be there every day when she checked in, although he was a BIG workaholic Joan wouldn't allow him to work 24/7. She insisted on him taking two days a week off a week, he normally took one and a half. He was a master at finding excuses for coming into the office on his day off. When he hadn't been the one to answer the phone when she checked in for a week she'd started worrying, but the mission had been intense and it wasn't until she'd checked in from Dulles she'd realized she hadn't spoken to Auggie in almost three months. As she rounded to final corner and entered the glass doors to the DPD she immediately made a beeline for Auggie's office. It was dark and abandoned, with no sign of Auggie. Just as she was about to turn and go to her desk and start writing her mission report Joan called her into her office.

"Good job on this mission Annie. You've gathered some really valuable intel."

"Thank you Joan. Ummm…." Annie hesitated; she wasn't sure how to ask Joan about Auggie.

"You want to know where Auggie is?" Joan cut to the chase.

"Yes. I thought he was going to be my primary handler on this mission, and no one told me why Stu too over without warning."

"Auggie's on medical leave. He's due back at work in a couple of weeks."

"Why? What's wrong with him?" Annie's voice was laced with worry.

"I'll let Auggie tell you that himself. He's at home and he told me to let you know that he wants you to come over after work. File your mission report and you're free to leave," Joan said dismissively. Annie got up and headed straight for her desk, wondering what was causing Auggie to be on medical leave for three months. Her mind was racing and she found it very hard to focus on the report, but she managed to send it off to Joan before 4 pm.

* * *

><p>As soon as she cleared the gates of Langley she dug out her cell phone and dialed Auggie's number he picked up on the third ring.<p>

"Annie! You're back I presume?" he said cheerfully. He didn't sound like anything was wrong with him.

"Just got back a few hours ago. I've been by Langley to file my report and now I'm heading back to DC. Joan said you wanted me to come by after work. What's going on Auggie?" Annie's voice was laced with worry despite Auggie's cheeriness.

"It's not something I wanna discuss over the phone. Do you want to come over now? Or do you have to make an appearance at Danielle's?"

"Danielle doesn't know I'm back. Have you eaten?"

"Nope, I'm starving actually, I was trying to decide of I should cook or call for a delivery."

"I can bring something," Annie offered. "Anything in particular you want me to get?"

"I was thinking about some Thai food. How does that sound to you?"

"Sounds great. Why don't you call in the order and I'll pick it up on my way over. Just order the regular one for me, ok?"

"Sure. See you in a few." Auggie ended the call.

Half an hour later Annie knocked on Auggie's door, she heard footsteps inside and to her surprise he didn't call out his usual "Who is it?", he just slid the door open. Annie was surprised to see Auggie looking as fit and healthy as ever. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans and a fitted navy t-shirt, his hair was slightly tousled and he smiled broadly. He didn't look sick at all, but there was something different about him, she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hi Auggie, you look way better than I expected."

"Well, thanks for that Walker. I've missed you too. Come in. I'll take the food," he said, holding out his hand.

Annie handed him the bag and entered. After closing the door behind her she slipped off her shoes and looked around. The apartment was brighter lit than she remembered and she noticed Auggie had gotten a new TV, a big flat screen hung on the wall opposite from his couch. A paperback book with a pair of glasses on top of it sitting on the coffee table caught her attention. Her mind was spinning and she looked at Auggie again. He was leaning casually against the kitchen island with a smile on his face. Then she noticed his eyes; he was looking straight at her. Not in her general direction like he used to.

"Auggie...?" Annie breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. He nodded and his smile grew wider. Annie quickly crossed the floor to where he was standing and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a firm hug.

"You're just as beautiful as I imagined," he whispered into her hair. As they broke the embrace Annie found her voice again.

"You can see? How? When? Why didn't you tell me?" The questions tumbled out of her mouth.

"Yeah. It's a long story, I'll tell you over dinner, I'm starving," Auggie said as he withdrew some plates from the cupboard. Annie noticed how he moved differently; smooth, confident movements had replaced the subtle, searching moves of a blind man.

Ten minutes later they'd satisfied their hunger and Auggie started speaking.

"About a month after you left Dr. Kessle called. There was a new experimental treatment and I was an ideal candidate. Problem was it started just a couple of weeks later. I cleared it with Joan, she granted a 3-month medical leave and before I knew it I was admitted and they started the treatment. There was no real risk, I was completely blind, and things couldn't get any worse, right?"

"I take it the treatment was successful?"

"More than they expected. They'd had good results on people with really bad vision, but I was the first completely blind patient they tried it on. I haven't got 20/20 vision back, but I see well enough to move around in daylight without a cane, I can read regular print again and use a computer without any adaptive tech. I just need reading glasses and proper lighting. It's amazing. My night vision isn't all that great; I still need to use my cane outside at night and in dark places I don't know. I don't see well enough to drive either, but I can live with that. Anything is better than what I had, and what I got was more than I ever dreamed off. After Kessle's rejection last year I'd basically written off any chance of seeing anything ever again."

"Why didn't you tell me? I've been worried about you."  
>Auggie could hear the hurt in her voice and he could see the flicker of emotion that passed her face. He knew Annie and he'd expected this.<p>

"Annie, you were the one person I wanted to tell about this, I wanted to talk to you so bad, I wanted you to be there with me in the hospital, to be there with me when they removed the bandages. Unfortunately the mission got in the way. Joan is the only one that knows why I'm away, I didn't want everyone to know, to get their hopes up for me and then feel sorry for me if it didn't work. You know me; I can't stand pity. Never could."

Annie nodded, she knew.

"I asked Joan if I could call you and talk to you. She said no. She didn't want you to be distracted, the mission was too important for that. She thought you might have jumped right on a plane back home if you knew what was going on."

"It's ok Auggie. Joan is right; I probably would've worried more about you if I'd known what was going on. So what does this mean? Are you going back in the field?"

"Yes and no. I don't see well enough to be a fully authorized field officer, so when I go back to work in a couple of weeks it'll be as Head of Tech Ops. Joan has promised me some field work though, we'll just have to wait and see what happens when I return."

"Why have you been out on medical leave for so long?"

"Took me a while to adjust to seeing again. I had terrible headaches the first month, had to be careful and not strain my eyes too much. That was a challenge, having lived in the dark for the past five years it was amazing to suddenly have a world of light and color again…" Auggie's voice got thick with emotion and trailed off. He took a deep breath and swallowed before continuing. "Really bright sunlight still bothers me and the headaches are persistent, but it's getting better. I can't wait to get back to work, I'm getting restless."

"I can only imagine…you're the biggest workaholic I know Auggie," Annie chuckled. Auggie looked over at her and winked. Annie shook her head; she still hadn't fully wrapped her head around the fact that Auggie could see her.

"I'm so happy for you Auggie, but I have to admit it's gonna take me a while to wrap my head around that you can see now."

"I know it's a lot to take in. Take all the time you need Annie. I'm here."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think? Curious to read more or is it crap?<br>**

**For now it's a one shot in "The CatchAll Drawer",  
>but if you want more I might turn it into a separate story.<strong>

**You know what to do - hit the blue button below! :o)**


	7. Stranded

**I'm not a huge fan of Auggie's laser cane. I'm not a 'hater', but it bugs me that they don't just stick to the white cane. Chris Gorham works so hard to get Auggie's blindness 'right', but the laser kind of ruins it for me since it's not something that's currently available to blind people. A while ago I was thinking about ways to get rid of the damn laser and this little story came to me.**

**So...the season 3 premiere is less than two weeks away and Twitter is overflowing with teasers, interviews, promos etc. From what I've been able to put together it looks like a lot will change, with both Annie and Auggie moving on to new positions within the CIA, no longer working together in the DPD. The episode I'm most excited about so far is the 2nd one, where Annie and Auggie are on a mission in Barcelona posing as a married couple. I'm also very curious about the webisodes featuring Auggie. :o)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs, Annie or Auggie.**

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><p><strong>-Stranded-<strong>

Auggie was heading down a quiet hallway in the basement at Langley after spending a long session with the heavy bag in the Agency gym. It was his usual shortcut, not that it really was a shortcut, but the deserted basement hallways were easier to navigate than the busy hallways on the second floor during the morning rush hour. His laser cane was swinging in front of him, making sure the path In front of him was clear. All of a sudden he felt an unusual vibration from the cane and then: nothing. He stopped in his tracks and tried to switch it off and on. Nothing. He made a second attempt. Still nothing. It appeared that the laser cane had died on him altogether. Auggie cursed; it had been acting up a bit lately and his initial thought had been that the batteries were dying and he'd changed them earlier that week. The cane had been working fine ever since. It hadn't given any signs that anything was wrong with it after he put the fresh batteries in; except for that unexpected vibration right before it stopped working. A slight feeling of panic crept up on Auggie. He was stranded in a deserted basement hallway without a cane. His white cane was where he always left it when he was at Langley: folded and safely stashed away in his desk drawer in the Tech Ops office. His first thought was to sit tight and wait for someone to find him; he soon pushed that thought away. He'd used the hallway regularly for over four years and he'd only met someone else a handful times. The chance of anyone finding him soon was slim to none. He swallowed his pride and dug in his pockets for his encrypted iPhone to get Annie to come and get him. When he couldn't find it he dug through his gym bag. It suddenly hit him that the battery had been running low 'cause he'd forgotten to plug it in the charger when he got home the previous night, and he'd left it to charge on his desk while he went to the gym. He'd figured he wouldn't need it during his workout. Joan knew his morning routine, so if she needed to get a hold of him she'd just send someone down to the gym to pass him the message.

A surge of panic went through him, a feeling he hadn't had since he was fresh out of rehab and an argument with his brother had left him stranded in unfamiliar territory without a sighted guide for a few minutes; until his brother had realized that their mother would have his hide for leaving Auggie stranded. "Okay Auggie, get a grip," he thought to himself. "You've walked this hallway hundreds of times, you know it like the back of your hand." He took a couple of deep breaths, picked up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder and set off down the hallway at a slow, cautious pace. He let the back of his right hand trail the wall, to provide some grounding, and his left hand extended in front of him in a protective stance.

By the time he reached the elevators, after what felt like an eternity later, his heart was racing, and when he finally reached his office he slumped down in his chair, trying to calm himself down. The first thing he did was to put new batteries in the laser cane. With shaking hands he struggled with removing the battery cover, taking out the old batteries and replacing them. The cane was still dead when he attempted to turn it on. With a frustrated sigh he threw it into the drawer of his desk and withdrew his white cane and placed it next to the phone on his desk, where the laser usually rested.

"Hey Auggie, what's wrong?"

The sound of Annie's voice startled him. He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard her entering his office.

"Nothing," he replied, a bit too quick and a bit too harsh.

"I call bullshit," Annie said in a no-nonsense tone. "Something's bothering you, I know you pretty well and you look all flustered."

"I'm fine Annie. Just that the damn laser cane decided to die on me today."

"Die? As in you forgot to change the batteries?"

Auggie shook his head and raked a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. "Nope, as in stopping to work altogether. It acted a bit weird last week, so I changed the batteries, even if it was far from due for a battery change, and it worked just fine after that. When I was walking back from the gym this morning it made this odd vibration an then it just died. Tried to turn it on and off a couple of times without success. When I made it back here I tried to change the batteries, but it didn't help. Still dead."

"Oh… How did you make it back here? You got someone to guide you?"

"Nope, I was in the basement hallway between here and the gym, I know that route like the back of my hand, it was just a matter of taking it slowly and cautiously."

Annie could sense that there was more to the story than what Auggie let on, but she knew better than to push it in the office.

"Do you have plans tonight?" she asked.

"Nothing specific. Why?"

"Danielle's hosting some kind of promotional thing for her catering business this afternoon and I'm not sure I'm up for dealing with the crowds that will without a doubt occupy the yard.

"Ah, I see. You're hoping for an invite to my place?"

"That or maybe we could go to Allen's or somewhere else?"

"My place is fine. We'll call for some food and hang out."

"Thanks Aug, you're a lifesaver. I'd better get back to work, I'll talk to you later."

Auggie nodded and swiveled his chair to face his computer. He pulled on his headphones and got to work on a cipher that had been giving him trouble for the past couple of days. He hoped it would get his mind off the damn cane incident.

* * *

><p>"So, plan on sharing what was bothering you this morning. And don't say nothing, it was written all over your face and body language Auggie."<p>

Auggie sighed. There were no escaping Annie Walker's sharp observational skills.

"When the laser cane stopped working I actually had a brief panic attack. Haven't had one of those for years, but being stranded in an abandoned basement hallway with no cane, no phone and slim chances of anyone passing by and finding me scared the shit outta me," he admitted. "After a few minutes I finally managed to pull myself together and work my way down to the elevator. I know one thing for sure. I've lost my confidence in the damn laser cane. It's too unreliable. I know I'll miss it, but unless they come up with a new and improved version I'm sticking to the always-reliable white cane. Don't have to worry about batteries dying or tech glitches. I depend too much on my cane to worry about stuff like that all the time."

Annie was lost for words. It was not often Auggie was this candid with her; he usually kept things close to the vest and appeared to be confident. Only rarely did he reveal that there were chinks in his armor. She simply slid closer to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He turned in her direction with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks Annie."

"For what?"

"Being you. For being here and for listening to my morose ass. I needed it tonight."

"Any time Aug, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Still...thanks Annie, it means more to me than you know."

Annie didn't say anything; she simply gave Auggie's shoulders another squeeze. She was glad she had the opportunity to be Auggie's rock for once; it was usually the other way around.

* * *

><p><strong>So...another little one-shot is up there.<strong>

**Please review :o)**


	8. The Volunteer

**A little AU story I originally planned to be a multi chapter story, but further chapters just never came together like I wanted them too. I finally gave up and decided to post it as a one-shot in "The CatchAll Drawer". I think this works well as a stand-alone story too.**

**So, who's counting down to the Season 3 premiere? I know I am!**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs. Just my storyline.**

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><p><strong>Anne Catherine "Annie" Walker<strong>  
><em>College student in her senior year of linguistics studies at Georgetown University. Decides to volunteer at a VA Rehab facility in her spare time.<em>

**__August "Auggie" Anderson**_  
>Army Captain and Computer Engineer. Blinded by an explosion during his last tour in Iraq. Originally from Glencoe, Illinois, but relocated to Washington DC after a promotion a couple of years earlier.<em>

**-The Volunteer-**

Annie Walker pulled her red VW into the staff parking lot at the VA rehabilitation facility in Sterling, Virginia. It was Sunday morning and her first day as a volunteer. Although she had volunteered at military base hospitals through most of her teens she was nervous. It was something about the big building that was imposing. She straightened her spine, squared her shoulders and headed inside to meet up with the volunteer coordinator and get her assignment.

An hour later she was walking down the hallway toward the blind rehabilitation unit. If possible she was even more nervous. She'd never been around anyone blind before and had no idea what to expect. A smiling middle-aged woman emerged from one of the doors. She stopped and looked at Annie for a second.

"Are you Annie? The new volunteer?"

Annie nodded affirmatively and held out her hand. "Annie Walker, nice to meet you."

"I'm Judith Wilkins, the care coordinator here at the blind rehab center. Let's get you a locker and we'll get to work. Have you ever worked with blind people?"

"Never. I grew up as an army brat and from I started High School I volunteered at the base hospital where Dad was stationed. This is completely new to me though. I have to admit I'm kind of nervous."

Annie had butterflies the size of eagles flittering around her stomach when she walked down the hallway. Judith had given her a crash course in sighted guide techniques and a few pointers on how to interact with a blind person. Her first assignment was to guide a patient to the dining room for lunch. She reached the correct room, the door was ajar and she peeked into the room. She saw a young man, Captain Anderson she'd been told, sitting on the edge of the bed, his shoulders were slumped and he was fidgeting with what appeared to be an iPhone. She knocked tentatively on the doorframe and his snapped up and he turned in her general direction. "Wow," was Annie's first thought. "Hadn't expected to run into a cute guy here." She noticed his dark brown eyes, chiseled jaw and wavy brown hair. Definitely handsome in Annie's book, but she quickly tried to put those thoughts away. His baritone voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"What? Who's there?" he said in a harsh tone.

"Oh, I'm Annie. I'm here to take you to the mess hall for lunch."

"Not hungry," he spat out.

"Umm…okay then. If you're sure I guess I'll go ask Judith if there's someone else that needs my assistance," Annie said as she turned and left the room. There was something about the man that intrigued her, but his hostility came as a surprise. When she was halfway down the hall she ran into Judith.

"Where's Captain Anderson?" she asked.

"In his room. Said he wasn't hungry. Rather harshly actually."

"He's been angry and uncooperative since he got here a week ago. We struggle to get him to eat too. Says he don't wanna be a spectacle in the dining room."

"Oh…" Annie thought for a few seconds. "What about bringing something to his room? Is that allowed?"

"Normally no, but feel free to try. He really should eat something."

Annie nodded affirmatively and headed to the mess hall. She picked up a tray and filled it with a bowl of tomato soup, a club sandwich, a bag of chips and two bottles of water. A few minutes later she was back in Captain Anderson's room. He was still sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Captain Anderson?" she said tentatively.

"What now? I said I'm not…" His voice trailed off as he inhaled.

"I brought you a tray of food. You should really try to eat something."

"You brought food here?" he asked in a softer tone, looking slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, I'll set the tray down on the desk. There's a bowl of tomato soup, a club sandwich and a bag of chips. I also brought you a couple of bottles of water."

"Oh…" He didn't know what to say, but he stood up and cautiously crossed the room with his hands slightly extended in front of him, located the chair and sat down by the desk. Annie described the locations of the items on the tray to him and within minutes he had polished off the soup and moved on to the sandwich and chips.

"I thought you weren't hungry," Annie said as he finished the sandwich.

"I guess I was wrong," he replied with a shrug after swallowing the last piece of sandwich.

"No problem. Judith said you didn't like to eat in the dining room. I figured you'd be more comfortable in your room. I guess I'll take the tray and bring it back there."

He didn't answer as she picked up the tray and left his room, but Annie was still happy with herself; She'd managed to get him to eat something.

* * *

><p>A couple of days later Annie returned for her second volunteer shift. Part of her was eager to see Captain Anderson again; there was something about him that intrigued her. As she walked down the main hallway Judith greeted her.<p>

"Hi Annie. Glad to see we didn't scare you away. It's dinner time, could you try to get Captain Anderson to eat something today too? We didn't have much success beyond a couple of apples yesterday."

"Would it be okay if I brought the meal to his room, like I did with lunch the other day?"

"Sure, but don't make a habit of it. He really should go to the dining room to eat with the rest of he patients."

"Got it. I'll do my best."

Anne made a detour to the dining room to see what the menu choices were and then she headed for Captain Anderson's room, bracing herself for his foul mood. His door was ajar and she saw him lying on the bed, his eyes were closed and he appeared to be slumbering. She knocked tentatively on the doorjamb.

"Captain Anderson?"

"What is it now?" he asked sharply, sitting up in bed.

"It's Annie, from the other day. I came to see if you wanted to go to the dining room for dinner or if you wanted me to bring your dinner here."

"Oh…" All of a sudden he seemed a bit deflated. "They let you bring my dinner here? Everyone else insists that I eat in the dining room."

"It's not something they usually allow, but I can be pretty persuasive. Today's choices are pot roast with mashed potatoes or fish and chips. What do you want?"

"Pot roast sounds nice," he responded flatly.

"Pot roast it is then, I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later Annie placed a tray with a plate of pot roast, mashed potatoes and glazed carrots on Auggie's desk. She'd also brought a chocolate pudding and a bottle of water for him. Just as the other day she described the locations of everything to him and he dug in hungrily. Annie sat quietly, surfing the net on her iPhone, while he ate. She didn't want to stare. She was deeply immersed in an article when August's deep baritone voice pulled her back to the present.

"Thanks Annie. I appreciate it."

"My pleasure. I don't know how long I'll be able to pull it off for."

He sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped. "I know," he said, sounding a bit defeated. Annie got up and grabbed the tray to bring it back to the mess hall with her. Just as she reached the door Auggie spoke again.

"By the way, please call me Auggie," he said quietly.

"Auggie? That's a new one, don't think I've heard that before."

"Short for August, but the only one that calls me that is my mother when she's pissed at me."

"I see. My full name is Anne Catherine, but I haven't been called that since I was grounded during high school I think," Annie said with a small laugh. A brief smile flickered across Auggie's face.

* * *

><p>Almost a week passed before Annie was able to do another shift at the rehab center, the first week of the semester had kept her busy. It was midday Sunday when she walked down the hall toward Auggie's room. He was sitting by the desk, his fingers moving slowly over a page filled with Braille characters. She watched for a couple of minutes, 'till he suddenly pushed the pages across the desk and cursed. Then he turned in her direction with an irritated look on his face.<p>

"Hi Annie. Staring at a blind guy is sort of rude. It's not like I can reciprocate," Auggie said with annoyance in his tone, but there was also a hint of teasing.

"Uh…oh…I'm sorry, you seemed to be so focused, and I didn't wanna interrupt. How did you know it was me?"

"Lucky guess. I don't think there are that many women here that wears Jo Malone Grapefruit."

"Oh, am I wearing too much perfume?" Annie said, worry lacing her voice. She'd just recently switched perfumes and still weren't 100% comfortable with how much to apply.

"No," Auggie said shaking his head. "It's just unusual. Most of the women here smell like flowers."

"So, how are you doing?"

"Okay I guess. Trying to learn Braille, which is damn impossible. My fingertips aren't sensitive enough. Where have you been all week?"

"First week of classes combined with moving into a new apartment kept me busy. I've managed to settle most things now, so the coming week should be less crazy."

"You're in college?"

"Senior year of a linguistics major at Georgetown. I've pretty much covered everything my major requires, but I still lack a few general credits. It won't be a very hard year for me study wise. That's why I decided to do some volunteer work."

"I know it's rude to ask a lady how old she is, but it's not like I can see you and judge for myself. I think you sound younger than most of the volunteers though."

"I'm 25. You're right; I'm younger than the other volunteers. I think most of them are at lest in their 40'ies, some of them are probably in their 70'ies."

"I suspected that. Some of them kind of act like my grandmother," he said with a small smile on his face. "Listen, I'm sorry I was such a dick the last time you were here. Everything is just so overwhelming; I don't know how to deal with it all."

"Don't worry about it. I can't even imagine how hard this is for you."

"Thanks Annie," Auggie responded quietly. Over that past week he'd realized he needed a friend. His family was halfway across the country in Glencoe, Illinois and his college and high school friends were scattered all over the country. He didn't have any close friends in the DC area. He'd moved there a couple of years earlier and he'd been immersed in his work since he moved there. His social life hadn't been on his list of priorities; being in a management position had proved to be more challenging than he'd anticipated and he'd let work take over his life. Then, about eight months earlier, he'd been asked to do a second tour in Iraq, which he'd accepted. The desk job was getting tedious and the action over in Iraq was tempting.

* * *

><p>"Hi Auggie," Annie greeted him as she entered his room at dinnertime the following Tuesday. "How are you?"<p>

"I'm okay I guess, been worse. How's your week going?"

"It's been good. A couple of my classes are proving to be more interesting than I thought they'd be."

"Well that's good. Is it almost dinnertime?"

"Yeah, I came to get you. They said you had to go to the dining room."

"I know. It's ok, I've had most of my meals there the past week." Auggie rose from his seat and headed for the door and grasped a long white cane that rested against the dresser.

"Um…do you want me to lead or are you using your cane?"

"Cane. Might as well practice. Do you mind keeping me company while I eat?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to."

Ten minutes later Annie placed a tray in front of Auggie. After describing where everything was on the tray and on his plate she sat down across from him.

"You know a little bit about me, but I barely know anything about you. Would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?" Annie asked after a few minutes of silence, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck too much.

"Sure. I grew up in Glencoe, Illinois, youngest of five boys. Studied Computer Engineering at MIT, graduated little over seven years ago. I did ROTC in college and went on active duty after graduation. Did a tour in Iraq and when I came back got a job in Chicago. Got promoted and transferred to DC a couple of years ago, last year I got asked to do another tour in Iraq, which I accepted. Ran into an IED and here I am," he said with a shrug.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost a month now. First they shipped me to Landstuhl, then on to Walter Reed before I finally arrived here a couple of weeks ago. I hoped to do my rehab at the Hines VA in Illinois, it's close to my family, but there was a two month wait to be admitted there. I just want to get it over with, so I here I am."

"You don't have any family in the DC area?"

He shook his head. "No. My parents and all of my brothers and their families live in the Chicago area."

"Oh, what about friends in the area?"

"Not really. Not close friends anyway, co-workers and acquaintances mostly."

"Well, if you want a friend I'm here. It's got to be hard to go through this alone."

"Thanks Annie. I appreciate it, I could use a friend."

"No problem," Annie said, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze. Auggie gave her a small smile in return. He had the feeling it was the beginning of a great friendship, Annie was something special.

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><p><strong>Please leave a review and let me know what you think :o)<strong>


	9. One Of Those Days

**I've still got some one-shots sitting on my computer, so I'll try to clean them up and publish them. Don't think I'll manage one a day, but I'll try to do it regularly.**

**DISCLAIMER: As always; I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong>-One Of Those Days-<strong>

From the moment he accidentally knocked his watch off the nightstand in his haste to turn off his blaring alarm clock Auggie knew it wasn't going to be a good day. Days that started with being sprawled on the floor, feeling under his bed for something were generally bad days. After a few moments of fumbling he found the watch and placed it back on the nightstand before he headed into the bathroom. Fortunately his morning routine of a quick shower, shaving and brushing his teeth went smoothly, as did getting dressed. His luck changed when he went to the kitchen to prepare a mug of coffee. He was running slightly late and didn't have time to grind beans and prepare his coffee in a French press like he normally did. He grabbed the canister that was supposed to contain Nespresso capsules on the counter. Empty. The space in the cupboard that normally held a few boxes of capsules was also empty. It hit him that he'd made a mental note to order coffee a few days earlier, but he'd forgotten all about it.

"Shit," he cursed. He checked the time; no time to drop by the bakery down the street for a cup before the car service was scheduled to arrive. He'd just have to wait 'till he got to Langley and get a cup there. Yep, this was going to be one of those days.

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><p>As Auggie had predicted in the morning it turned out to be a bad day; he got stuck handling the extraction of a rookie officer on a botched mission in Romania. Auggie generally disliked handling rookies, they usually needed to be guided trough every step of the process and it was exhausting. He ended up working non-stop for almost 10 hours, without having time to eat lunch. He'd through the day on a few cups of coffee and a couple of power bars, but he was starving and his hunger combined with the stressful work had caused a headache to pound in his head. It was well past 8 pm when he heard the familiar clicking of Annie's heels entering his office.<p>

"Hey," he said with a small smile on his face, while pulling his headphones down so they were hanging around his neck. "Where have you been hiding all day?"

"Double shift at the Russian desk. If I have to read one more Russian email tonight I'll scream. I'm about to head home before I get roped into doing a third shift or Joan dumps some urgent translation on my desk. Are you ready to head home?"

"Yeah, I was just about to call my car service."

"Don't. I'll give you a ride."

"Thanks." Auggie said with a small smile.

"I'll grab my keys and log off my computer. I'll be back in five, okay?"

Auggie nodded and put his headphones back on. He quickly shut down his computer and straightened up his desk, tossing the empty coffee cups and power bar wrappers into the trashcan under his desk. He cursed when he heard a coffee cup hit the floor instead of the metal bottom of the trashcan. He decided to leave it there; he wasn't in the mood to crawl around on the floor to find stray coffee cups. The overnight cleaning staff would just have to deal with it.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked as she pulled out of the staff parking lot at Langley. She'd noticed that something was off with Auggie; he seemed tense and his eyes were glassy.

"It's just been one of those days…" he sighed. "Started off badly and then I ended up handling the extraction of one of the rookies. Didn't have time to eat anything. I'm knackered and my head is pounding."

Annie made a quick decision; they both needed food and they might as well eat together. Auggie felt the car take an unexpected turn; it definitely wasn't the normal route to his house.

"Annie? Where are we going?"

"My place. Danielle's been in town for a few days and my fridge is filled with all sorts of delicious leftovers."

"Sorry Annie, I'm not in the mood for company right now. No offense to Danielle intended."

"She left this morning, it's just you and me."

"Oh…okay. Just don't expect me to be awesome company; I'm too tired to be that."

"So am I. We'll eat and I'll take you home. Figured we both need to eat and I'm not in the mood for going out."

"Okay. Thanks Annie," Auggie said with a sincere smile. It might have been one of those days, but the evening looked pretty good and hopefully tomorrow would be better.

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><p><strong>Please leave a review :o)<strong>


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